The Nativity of Christ: Making the Invisible Visible

The Nativity of Christ is the celebration of the Birth of the Word of God, come into the world. This same Word of God took on human flesh at his Conception, and waited until he was born to become visible in the world. Just like his Incarnation, his Birth was brought about in obscurity and in silence. Certainly, the shepherds visited and did him homage; the angels sang Glory to God in the Highest; the ox and the ass were the witnesses of his birth in the manger. Yet apart from these signs and witnesses, the birth of Our Lord was largely unnoticed. Even in this humble birth something wonderful happened.


The invisible was made visible.


Through the various readings and prayers of the Mass during the season of Christmas, one can contemplate various aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation, where God took on human flesh for the salvation of world.

One text I like to read and meditate and pray is the First Preface of the Nativity.

The First Preface of Christmas

During the Christmas Season, the First Preface of the Nativity - listed as one of three prefaces for Christmas in the Roman Missal 3rd Edition (2002) as well as the “Præfatio de Nativitate Domini” of the Roman Missal (1962) - is a marvelous synthesis of the purpose of the Incarnation, Birth and Manifestations of the Word of God:

For in the mystery of the Word made flesh
a new light of your glory
has shone upon the eyes of our mind,
so that, as we recognize in him God made visible,
we may be caught up through him
in love of things invisible.

Firstly, one can (and superficially) remark that nowhere in this preface mentions the “Little Baby Jesus” as the object of the Christmas mystery. Instead, one is immediately referred to the Prologue of the Gospel of John (1:1-5,14):

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
[…]
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.

Note the themes of light/dark and visible/invisible.

In the Word of God taking on human flesh, that very mystery shines a light into the minds of men, so that we can see things as they are, that is, in the light of God’s grace. Thus, in the light of the Incarnation, we can see that God himself becomes visible. God takes on a human face. God reveals himself to humanity in a definitive and efficacious way.

Again: God took on a human face. That is the mystery being celebrated. It’s not just that God took on the appearances of being human, like a Halloween mask - which can be taken off once the party’s over. God definitively united himself with our humanity, our flesh. He did this so that we can look upon God and contemplate all of God just by looking at Jesus.

And there is a reason for this: as we contemplate the Word become Flesh, our hearts learn to love the invisible-made-visible. And in this, our love for invisible, spiritual, eternal things grows. Thus, in contemplating the Human face of Jesus, God is inviting us to embrace spiritual realities that our sinfulness tends to avoid.

That is the mystery of Christmas. It’s not just about the “Little Baby Jesus” - though God is inviting us to look upon the face of the “Little Baby Jesus” and allow our hearts to grow open to more spiritual things. God is also inviting to look at the whole of the humanity of Jesus. To look upon the whole life of Jesus: not only his birth and epiphany, but also his public ministry, and his Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Part of our own sanctification on this earth is not merely to hope for “spiritual things” to drop from the sky and reveal themselves to us. A true Christian mystical life is to contemplate the mysteries of the Lord through the celebration of the Liturgy: the Mass, the Office and the other liturgical celebrations. In them Christ is really present; Christ is really acting in the Liturgy; Christ is visible. One can see the Human Face of Christ - not just in the Priest - but also in the face of the Baptized People of God who are present, too. In the Liturgy, the humanity of Christ is “enfleshed” even further through its celebration, the gestures, the vestments, the chants, and the readings. Thus, even in the most “boring” of Masses, the humanity of Christ is being revealed. God’s love is being definitively made visible, so that we can “look upon” him and see how much he love us and invites us to love him in return.

This is the hope of Christmas : to be caught up in the visible-ness of the Word-become-Flesh, so that we can love God - and what God loves - a little bit more each day. So: use your eyes. Look at the beauty of the Nativity and see the invisible God now made visible for you. And for me.

Merry Christmas.

When the liturgy counts down 'til Christmas, too

Today is December 21: the Winter Solstice; the shortest day of the year.  Though the sun is out today in Rome, it won't be out for long. I'll likely take a stroll to the Pantheon to look through the oculus to see if the sun does indeed pass through it on the solstice, as we were speculating about a few days ago in class.

This morning's Benedictus antiphon for December 21 struck me. Whilst there are others doing reflections on the various O Antiphons for the Magnificat, I have also been looking at some of the accompanying Benedictus antiphons.

(This is a fragment from the 10th century Hartker Antiphonary [St. Gallen Stifsbibl. 390] 
which contains the earliest extant instance of this chant.)

(This is a modern engraving based on the Solemnes chant books.)

The text is poignant: Nolíte timére: quinta enim die véniet ad vos Dóminus noster.
           (Do not be afraid: for on the fifth day will come to you... Our Lord.)

It's not a biblical text (as most of the texts for the various Gregorian chants usually are biblical in origin). Its rather a simple exhortation by the Church to her people: Do not be afraid. Do not fear.

It is followed by a interesting feature - the chant itself gives a time-frame when the Lord will come: in five days on the fifth day. (Thx to Fr. Llane Briese for the clearer translation!)

So, the countdown clock continues... until the Lord comes to us. But - as I've been reflecting upon for a few weeks now - his coming is also paradoxical. He has already come, and yet he never left us. He says he will come again, and yet he never left us. The Church says that he will come, and yet he never left us.

But perhaps fear has something to do with it. Our human experience can be tinged and fraught with fear. And fear keeps us from seeing things clearly. Our darkened intellect and our weakened will also keeps us from seeing things clearly, too.  Only by divine illumination can our fears be dashed and our sight restored.

So, hear the voice of the Church: Do not be afraid. Five days more. And we wait a little while longer for... Our Lord.

---

Update:
I did visit the Pantheon at noon today, the winter solstice. Notice the picture below. The ancients built the Pantheon in such a way to allow the sun's light to shine through the oculus above the main entrance at noon on this day. Note also that the sun's light completely envelops the 2nd-to-last "square". (My way of describing this is that the sun is "quadrasected" (intersected in 4-places) by the roof's niche.) As they were tracking the course of the sun through the year, the ancients clearly knew that after the solstice the days would get longer, and that the light would increase.

The Christian community in Rome was also aware of these celestial calendar events. Indeed, one could speculate that a number of Christians in Rome knew that the sunlight would be in a particular place on the solstice.  The Christian celebration of Christmas originated here in Rome - quite early, too. Christmas was celebrated on 25 December, which also happened to correspond to the old dating of the winter solstice. (The solar calendar changed in 325 AD, so the solstice was shifted by a few days, but the Christians still celebrate Christmas on the 25 December.)

Which brings it back to the theme of light. Even in the darkness of our fears and the darkness of our sinfulness, the Sun of Justice (O Oriens!) will come and bring healing, restoration, and forgiveness. May these last few days of Advent be a graced period of preparation as we allow the light of the Messiah to warm the embers of our hearts. Let the Lord enter, he is the King of Glory!

Five Ways to Live Advent Well this Year

(Yes, it is a click-bait-y title, but you're here, aren't you?!)

At breakfast this week, a brother priest casually asked me:

"Hey, you're a liturgy guy... How can I do this Advent thing well? What can I do?"

So, in response to his question, I'll offer the following suggestions. Of course, there are more ways to celebrate Advent well, but here are five:

(1) Pray the Collect from the daily Mass

As I hinted at during my previous post, the opening prayer at Mass (called the Collect) during each day of Advent is a mini-reflection on the meaning of Advent. These prayers are the Church's way of distilling the essence of a particular liturgical season or a Saint's feast day and asking the Lord for a specific grace or gift.  During Advent, these prayers are quite poignant, as they ask for strength, protection and courage whilst we struggle against sin.

For example, the collect for Friday of the First Week of Advent is : 

Stir up your power, we pray, O Lord, and come,
that with you to protect us,
we may find rescue
from the pressing dangers of our sins,
and with you to set us free,
we may be found worthy of salvation.

Each day, take the Collect of the day's Mass & pray it slowly, making the prayer your own.

You can find the collects either in a Daily Roman Missal, a monthly Magnificat booklet, or on other sites. Pray well.


(2) Read the First Reading: A Study of the Prophecies of Isaiah

During Advent, the first reading at each day's Mass is usually from the Prophet Isaiah. In short, Advent provides a mini Bible study of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.

Read each day's first reading at Mass from Isaiah and see how the Church's Liturgy proclaims the texts as a way to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.

You can find the daily readings for Mass on the US Bishop's website.


(3) Pray the Prefaces of Advent

The two prefaces used during the Season of Advent are excellent summaries of the twofold purpose of Advent. Praying each of these is a also way to see clearly the double structure of Advent:

• The Two Comings of Christ (used during Advent through December 16)
• The Twofold Expectation of Christ (used from December 17-24)

(4) Pray the Great "O" Antiphons

From December 17-23, the Church intensifies it's preparation for the Celebration of the Birth of the Lord.  During Vespers, there are special antiphons chanted at the Magnificat that highlight an aspect of the Lord's coming which was foretold by Isaiah or other Old Testament prophet. Each of these antiphons begin with the vocative "O", which directly addresses the Lord by one of his prophetic titles.

• December 17 - O Sapientia (Wisdom)
• December 18 - O Adonai
• December 19 - O Radix Iesse (Root of Jesse)
• December 20 - O Clavis David (Key of David)
• December 21 - O Oriens (Dayspring)
• December 22 - O Rex Gentium (King of the Nations)
• December 23 - O Emmanuel

The USCCB, Fr. Z and others have sites dedicated to the O Antiphons.


(5) Set up an Advent Wreath at home

Many households have an Advent wreath on the dining room table. The four candles count the weeks of Advent. It's a simple way to remind you and your family that the Lord is coming - and coming soon!